Sugar Act for review to boost production

DAILY NEWS Reporter in Dodoma

Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa

WHILE the country has enough food, the government will review the Sugar Act of 2001 and its regulations to create ample room for control and improvement of services offered in the sector, the Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, said here yesterday.

Moving a motion to adjourn the National Assembly session here yesterday, the Premier said the move is aimed at ensuring that the sugar sector is well managed while proper control measures are in place for improved productivity.

He said the government will conduct a fresh evaluation to know the actual needs for the essential commodity in the country since it has come to their attention that much as the government has imported 63,000 tonnes of sugar, the shortage persisted.

He added that in the next five years, the government aims at increasing sugar production to 459,503 tonnes -- by coming up with a new approach and strategies that will guarantee increased production and productivity in the sector.

According to Mr Majaliwa, the measures include setting up three middlescale sugar production factories in Kilosa, Mvomero and Kilombero districts and four major ones at Bagamoyo, Rufiji, Kigoma and Kidunda.

To ensure increased productivity, the government will press for reliable and timely availability of agricultural inputs to small-scale sugarcane farmers, improved irrigation infrastructure and proper running and management of primary cooperatives societies for sugarcane farmers.

“We will as well try our level best to cut down the production cost, which manufacturers incur and at the same time build capacity for farmers to produce more,’’ he told the House.

He noted that the government will use all means possible to ensure that sugar shortages become a history in addition to instituting more measures to check reoccurrence. “As of June 30, this year, 63,000 tonnes of sugar have been imported and distributed to various parties in the country.

However, it has come to our attention that sugar availability in the market has not been stable as prices ranged between 2,500/- and 3,000/- per kilogramme in district and regional headquarters.

Mr Majaliwa told the House that following the situation, the only means to address the shortage is to increase local sugar production, which the government is determined to do in the next five years.

On food crop production, the Premier said preliminary findings in a research conducted in May 2016; show that the country was on the right track. He said of the 174 municipalities covered under the research, 30 per cent had food surplus, 116 had the needed capacity to cater for their needs while seven municipalities in Iringa, Kilimanjaro, Dodoma, Mwanza and Coast experienced food shortage mainly due to floods.

Mr Majaliwa said in dealing with food shortage, the government, through the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), had a stock of 62,312 tonnes of food as of June 9, 2016, adding that in the 2016/17 financial year, 100,000 tonnes will be stocked by the agency.